Top tips to ensure that UK brands have a high-flying Black Friday 2022, despite the current cost-of-living crisis and economic turmoil, have been revealed by a trio of influencer marketing, data technology and digital growth experts.
This year, retailers will be hoping more than ever to cash in on Black Friday sales in November as households prepare for Christmas, amid soaring energy bills and a highly precarious economy.
Research published today by influencer marketing agency, Disrupt, reveals some of the strategies that brands should be following to boost their sales using social influencers, customer data and lead generating campaigns.
Senior leaders from Disrupt, along with sister agencies Braidr, and Found, point out that while Black Friday is more than two months away, businesses should be in detailed planning now for a successful strategy to be executed which will mitigate the economic uncertainty as much as possible.
Stevie Johnson, managing director of Disrupt, said: “Influencer marketing is very firmly a multi-million pound part of the performance channel these days, so it can’t be an after-thought when it comes to Black Friday, particularly this year. As with all digital investments around this crucial trading period, it needs to deliver returns.
“When partnering with talent that can drive an audience to take action, you should be providing trackable links as you would for an affiliate, to help drive sales. This is an area where we are seeing massive success across the most recent social platforms, such as TikTok for their shop partners.”
Johnson, a BAFTA-winning ex Made In Chelsea star and influencer, added that making a success of Black Friday amid a cost-of-living crisis and economic turmoil required brands to think ahead, find the right influencer and execute their plan in time.
James Wolman, Head of Data Science at Braidr, said: “Consumer behaviour changes all the time. The pandemic accelerated the rate of digital adoption and online shopping habits have soared, which is good for Black Friday sales, but has left some businesses revising and re-thinking their whole business model.
“These are additional challenges which we can help with at Braidr, where we analyse and segment customer data to reveal the true story of their behaviour, and use predictive analytics to measure consumer sentiment. Now is the time to deep dive into your customer data so you can get out in front, not left trailing behind your competitors.”
Ruth O’Brien, Paid Social Lead at Found, said: “This is not a time for 100 ads with separate messaging for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, 2 hours left etc. Stick to a core of strong creative, go for consistent messaging throughout the week and reduce the percentage of your budget used on learning stages.”
She added: “It is also really important to plan ahead as much as possible. Paid social channels such as Meta are reliant on machine learning to optimise. Big changes to campaign budgets and targeting can lose efficiency. It’s vital for brands to ensure creative is finalised early.”
The agency trio have some final tips. If you’re a brand, think about what you have to offer for this period. Is it worth shouting about? Would the investment in wider marketing for Black Friday position your brand as a leader in the space? If so, get planning.
You can download Disrupt’s detailed recommendations for Black Friday here and watch the Found team discussing Black Friday strategy here.
Disrupt, Found and Braidr, are part of the Tomorrow Group of companies.
